Set the posts farther in…this will flatten the straddle cable and increase mechanical advantage. Google canti brake Sheldon brown
redfoxiii on
New pads, but… well, frankly, there’s a reason the industry moved away from cantilever brakes.
GrandJelly_ on
Firstly, they are cantis, the 2nd worst rim brakes you can get.
Second, it could be the blocks. Kool Stop makes the best rim brake pads.
Third, you could get a triangle which lets you allow to adjust the pull lenght to a tee.
But your brake symetry looks spot on, so I wouldn’t change that.
Fourth, how are your rims? Are they clean?
Medical-Border-4279 on
What kind of levers do you have? Is there a chance someone has put long-pull levers with these short-pull brakes? That would explain extremely stiff lever feel with very poor braking power….
Nihmrod on
I just experienced this. I cannibalized an 8 speed “brifter” as part of a larger upgrade but kept the cantilever brakes in place. Nice firm feel but completely anemic braking. So I cannibalized the v-brakes so they’d match the braking mechanism in the brifter. Now I brake like the Devil.
Weak_Tadpole_6708 on
Cantilever brakes have great potential, but they take some skill and patience.
That main cable should be oriented directly out of that disc in the middle of your straddle yoke. There’s a tab under it and it will pull more directly if you slid it under that tab.
That steel noodle around the seat tube tends to add a lot of friction to the system. there should be a lubricated plastic liner in there to smooth out the action. plastic liner is available in bulk but it might be hard to track down. You might be able to dissect a short bit of brake or shift housing and pull some out for that purpose. Make sure the rest of the cable moves freely through the housing. a few drops of Tri-Flow will help if the cable is not rusty and the housing is not worn out.
Only-Professor1140 on
Follow this guide. You don’t need the tool they mention, but do follow the order they have. A good trick is to first twist out the brake lever barrel adjuster about 5mm. Then do all your adjustments, including the final one of pushing your brake pads in until they touch the rim. Then twist in the barrel adjuster so you get some clearance from the rim. You’ll notice that the brake pad arms will be need to be pushed pretty far in have a good brake lever feel. This is good, because it will give you more powerful mechanical advantage. I’ve been adjusting all cantilevers following this guide and it works every time. Truly night and day performance difference. I also second people saying to clean the rim. Also undo the quick release on the brake and clean the pads, if necessary. Water with dish soap is fine, but rinse it off well. If there’s grease on your rims that won’t come off, isopropyl alcohol works extremely well.
Those were always bad. Is that the original Y cable? It looks short.
DivergentObscurity on
Check the spring balance on those arms, if one pad sits closer to the rim than the other you’ll lose a lot of effective braking and the lever will feel oddly stiff. There’s a small centering screw at the pivot that evens the spring tension. Also worth checking the pads themselves, old hardened rubber stops gripping well no matter how clean the rim is.
JarkoJohnson on
If there is any way to convert them to v-brakes, that’s totally the way to go. I did it for an old cross bike and couldn’t be happier. Basic V brakes are cheap, especially compared to running into something because you have bad brakes. Sure I’ll get downvoted by the purists/ super mechanics here, but for the average rider/mechanic, V-brakes are it. You do have to pick the right ones in terms of cable pull & arm length , but even if you have to go to a shop and pay for it, it’s still worth it in the end.
jmdunkle on
Replace the cantis with V-brakes. They’re dirt cheap and have a bazillion times the stopping power of cantis
12 Comments
Set the posts farther in…this will flatten the straddle cable and increase mechanical advantage. Google canti brake Sheldon brown
New pads, but… well, frankly, there’s a reason the industry moved away from cantilever brakes.
Firstly, they are cantis, the 2nd worst rim brakes you can get.
Second, it could be the blocks. Kool Stop makes the best rim brake pads.
Third, you could get a triangle which lets you allow to adjust the pull lenght to a tee.
But your brake symetry looks spot on, so I wouldn’t change that.
Fourth, how are your rims? Are they clean?
What kind of levers do you have? Is there a chance someone has put long-pull levers with these short-pull brakes? That would explain extremely stiff lever feel with very poor braking power….
I just experienced this. I cannibalized an 8 speed “brifter” as part of a larger upgrade but kept the cantilever brakes in place. Nice firm feel but completely anemic braking. So I cannibalized the v-brakes so they’d match the braking mechanism in the brifter. Now I brake like the Devil.
Cantilever brakes have great potential, but they take some skill and patience.
That main cable should be oriented directly out of that disc in the middle of your straddle yoke. There’s a tab under it and it will pull more directly if you slid it under that tab.
That steel noodle around the seat tube tends to add a lot of friction to the system. there should be a lubricated plastic liner in there to smooth out the action. plastic liner is available in bulk but it might be hard to track down. You might be able to dissect a short bit of brake or shift housing and pull some out for that purpose. Make sure the rest of the cable moves freely through the housing. a few drops of Tri-Flow will help if the cable is not rusty and the housing is not worn out.
Follow this guide. You don’t need the tool they mention, but do follow the order they have. A good trick is to first twist out the brake lever barrel adjuster about 5mm. Then do all your adjustments, including the final one of pushing your brake pads in until they touch the rim. Then twist in the barrel adjuster so you get some clearance from the rim. You’ll notice that the brake pad arms will be need to be pushed pretty far in have a good brake lever feel. This is good, because it will give you more powerful mechanical advantage. I’ve been adjusting all cantilevers following this guide and it works every time. Truly night and day performance difference. I also second people saying to clean the rim. Also undo the quick release on the brake and clean the pads, if necessary. Water with dish soap is fine, but rinse it off well. If there’s grease on your rims that won’t come off, isopropyl alcohol works extremely well.
https://preview.redd.it/pkprgl54iuah1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8fd91a67a3a41636b492d72c423cd56b216daebd
Those were always bad. Is that the original Y cable? It looks short.
Check the spring balance on those arms, if one pad sits closer to the rim than the other you’ll lose a lot of effective braking and the lever will feel oddly stiff. There’s a small centering screw at the pivot that evens the spring tension. Also worth checking the pads themselves, old hardened rubber stops gripping well no matter how clean the rim is.
If there is any way to convert them to v-brakes, that’s totally the way to go. I did it for an old cross bike and couldn’t be happier. Basic V brakes are cheap, especially compared to running into something because you have bad brakes. Sure I’ll get downvoted by the purists/ super mechanics here, but for the average rider/mechanic, V-brakes are it. You do have to pick the right ones in terms of cable pull & arm length , but even if you have to go to a shop and pay for it, it’s still worth it in the end.
Replace the cantis with V-brakes. They’re dirt cheap and have a bazillion times the stopping power of cantis
If you can “tow in” the brake pads that may help.